


Find My Way Home

by Billiam-Batson (Peer_Parker)



Series: Shazamnesia [1]
Category: Shazam! (2019)
Genre: Amnesia, Angst, Hospitals, Hurt/Comfort, Mild Language, Running Away, Whump, dont worry though it gets better! i love this family and will not have bad endings in this house
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-04
Updated: 2020-11-04
Packaged: 2021-03-09 03:27:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,716
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27387940
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Peer_Parker/pseuds/Billiam-Batson
Summary: Where Billy gets amnesia, and forgets that the Vasquez family were ever his family.
Relationships: Billy Batson & Freddy Freeman, Billy Batson & Rosa Vasquez
Series: Shazamnesia [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2000752
Comments: 11
Kudos: 48





	Find My Way Home

**Author's Note:**

> Hey, here's my first work in the fandom! I love this movie, I've seen it so many times. Absolutely adore the Shazamily and relate to Billy Batson.  
> For my first work I've gone for angst and whump with the trope of amnesia in order to get to know the characters... and also, I love those genres xD. Hopefully I'll get to know the characters better through writing.
> 
> Happy reading!

“Darla—watch out!”

It all happened in the blink of an eye. One moment, they were walking out of the school building, chatting about their days. The next, Billy was dashing forwards, diving towards Darla, knocking her aside. Pushing her out of the way of danger.

And taking it himself instead.

“Billy!” Freddy shouted, watching as his brother took the brunt of the force, rolling onto the floor. It was the Bryer brothers again, of course. They had some weird obsession with tormenting the family, especially after Shazam destroyed their car. This was taking it too far, however. Rushing towards Darla, knowing that one of them would have to come to her defence? A low blow indeed.

Billy seemed to think so too, growling under his breath as he pushed himself off the ground. Mary sent him a warning look, perhaps trying to get him not to engage, but Billy looked past it. He had to protect his family. Sure, they were all superheroes. However, it wasn’t like any of them could transform right now. He was the only one with street smarts enough to fight. He’d only just gotten this family and he wasn’t prepared to risk them to a pair of high school bullies.

“What about you pick on someone your own size?” he taunted, making sure the attention was fully on him, before squaring them up. “Although, I guess Darla matches your guys’ height of maturity pretty well.”

He ducked swiftly as a fist swung towards him. He knew this dance; it wasn’t pleasant, but he knew it. He moved the right steps, darting back and forth, throwing in a few blows. His breaths came quickly, tiring easily from having to take two opponents at once without the powers of his Shazam form- but he could do this.

Suddenly, they were both in front of him. He couldn’t do this, Billy realised, as he was pushed roughly to the ground. Not many people were around now, but he couldn’t Shazam even if there were no risks of transforming—he’d no doubt fry Brett who was standing over him, hands pinning him to the ground. Maybe he could get Freddy to throw over a crutch and he could use that as a weapon, just as he had at the start of his stay with the family—

Every thought of plans disappeared from his mind when he saw Darla pull away from Mary’s grasp, wielding her backpack as a weapon towards the brothers.

“Darla—” he began to warn. In his moment of distraction, he didn’t see the fist coming for his face, one he could have easily dodged. He only registered the bright spark of pain as his head smacked against the concrete.

“Shaza…ugh…” he groaned, words sputtering out, vision blackening and blackening until he knew no more. The flash of lightning that had started in the sky flickered out as briefly as it had come.

******

“…gonna be okay?”

“Doctor said… no permanent damage…”

He groaned as he came to. The first thing he registered was a slow, steady beeping beside him. Then, he heard the voices.

He shifted slightly but made no move to open his eyes. A dull ache throbbed in the back of his head, and a lingering sense of unease prickled at the base of his neck. Waking up in an unfamiliar place with unknown voices around him screamed danger.

He couldn’t run away right now, however, Billy knew. As he peeked open an eye, he saw that there were a lot of people sitting around him. A man and a woman sat beside his bed (he was in a bed? The last thing he knew, he’d run away from a foster home and was out on the streets. So where had the bed come from?) Beside them, a boy sat, with a crutch propped against his chair. A few moments later, he dared to peek out again, and caught sight of a young boy, an even younger girl.

“Billy?” A voice from the other side of him spoke. Dang, he’d been caught. There were more people than he’d guessed. “I think he’s waking up—Billy?”

Knowing the act was up, he opened his eyes fully. On the other side of him was a boy, probably not much older than him, and an older girl, the one who’d noticed him waking up.

“How are you doing, _mijo_?” A soft voice asked from beside him, and he turned to the other side, seeing the woman reaching out to him. As her fingers brushed against his hand, he flinched away. Her brows furrowed in concern, but she moved backwards.

He blinked, wincing a little in the harsh light of the room but he resisted the temptation to fall back onto the pillows and drift off. These people could have kidnapped him, for all he knew. Although, looking around, he was in a hospital.

Wait. Why was he in a hospital? He… he was sure he hadn’t been mugged. What was the last thing he’d been doing?

Billy clenched his fists. Come on Batson, think…

Right! He’d been looking for his mom. After locking the cops in the shop, he’d found an address, and…

And…

“Billy?” A different voice interrupted his thoughts. It was the boy sitting by the man and the woman. Billy glanced him over. He was wearing a blue jacket and a shirt with some superhero’s emblem on it.

“Look…” Billy began, finding his voice, continuing on despite how it cracked. “I don’t know what you guys want, but if you’re some type of undercover cops, then—”

“What?” The boy interrupted again. “Come on, dude, this isn’t funny.”

Billy stared at him, not entirely sure what there was to be funny about the situation.

“Really?” A pause. “Do you have some sort of weird aversion to hospitals or something?” The boy narrowed his eyes. “What? Why’re you staring at me like that for?” Then, in a not so quiet whisper, he leant into the woman beside him and said, “Are you sure the doctors didn’t mention any brain damage?”

The man spoke up this time. “Look, I’m sure Billy’s just having a hard time figuring things out. That was quite the nasty hit he took. That’s why he’s got to stay here to recuperate from that concussion…”

The people began to converse between themselves, in snatched whispers, glancing to him from time to time, as if they were speaking about him. He turned it over in his aching mind. He was in a hospital. The last place he’d been at was, supposedly, his mom’s. The police had been chasing him. Then, suddenly, he wakes up in a hospital with a concussion and a strange group of people who seem to know his name?

Honestly, that gave him no logical conclusion, but he was definitely sure that this wasn’t somewhere he wanted to stay.

He began to pick at the IV line stuck in his arm, but froze when a hand came over his, stopping him. He looked up, seeing the boy standing by the older girl shaking his head. He didn’t say anything, but the look he gave him seemed to communicate it all.

So, no escaping for now, it seemed. He huffed, scrubbing a hand over his face. The constant talking at his side was driving daggers into his skull and, finally, he snapped.

“Please- whoever you are- can you just stop? I… I can’t…”

With those words, they fell into silence at once. He groaned, flopping his head back against the pillows. Maybe they were going to leave, realising whatever… plan they were hatching wasn’t working. He didn’t know. All he knew was that everything was too much to comprehend.

There were a few more blissful moments of silence. Then, a small broken voice asked, “Does Billy not know us anymore?”

“No, no… he does, sweetie, I’m sure. I don’t know what’s going on, but…”

“It’s a classic trope in media. Amnesia, that is…”

And they were off again. He groaned aloud this time, bringing his hands over his ears. But the noise only got worse; the beeping of whatever machine was plugged in beside him getting louder and faster.

The next few moments went by in a blur. There was a flurry of movement, chairs being pushed back, people rushing in and out of the room. The poke in his arm was sharper, for a moment, and then, a warmth trickled through his veins, lightening the burden in his mind. The pain seeped out from his body, and he allowed the darkness to carry him away.

********

He had dreams of people in bright suits, with lightning bolts carved in their chests.

Everything was hazy, however, as dreams tend to be; reality smushed and swirled until it became indistinguishable. He remembered a man with a glowing blue eye, and felt the way he was shoved under the water, coughing, choking, spluttering, drowning—

And thus, he awoke with a gasp, clutching at his throat as if the invisible hands were still pushing him under. He steeled himself to take deep breaths, however, as he remembered the situation. He was in a hospital. Thankfully, alone this time. He knew he had to get a grip, otherwise the machine would start beeping again and people would come in—

Whatever. He was used to looking after himself. He couldn’t assure himself that everything would be okay, because honestly, he wasn’t sure of anything anymore. But he could force himself to take in sharp breaths and tell himself to chill the fuck out. That worked, even if leaving him feeling more than a little shaken.

One glance out the window told him it was morning. Not too light, however, so maybe early morning. He could hear the low bustle of doctors and nurses in the background, but maybe he’d struck lucky—it might not be time for visitors. Which meant those people wouldn’t be bothering him.

Ugh. He was still just as confused as before. Who were they? They acted like they knew him, and they knew his name—but he didn’t know them. Maybe they were the police. Or—wait. He thought back to them. The man and the woman… a fair amount of kids… He groaned. He’d seen enough families before to know what one looked like.

So, they weren’t undercover cops. Worse, they were a family, probably one sent by his social worker to take him in. Great. Just when he was about to find his mom.

Billy shook his head. He didn’t have to give in this time. The odds were in his favour at that very moment. His head was feeling somewhat better, and the hospital didn’t seem that busy.

He could definitely make a break for it.

First, though, there was the problem of the machine (which he now realised was a heart-rate monitor). If it’d set off earlier from him freaking out, then it was probably sensitive and might have some sort of alarm that would go off if he took it out of his arm. Right. Billy blinked. He’d never been very good at IT or science, but he had street smarts. He’d figure this out.

Alright, alright, maybe he didn’t have it figured out, Billy realised, as he frantically hit at the machine, trying to stop its alarms from blaring.

“Come on, come on, come on…” he chanted under his breath, looking around it, hitting wildly, until—finally. Something clicked- he must have hit a button or broken it—and the alarm stopped. He quickly ran over to the door, poking his head out, ignoring the slight pain it flared. Thankfully, he didn’t see any doctors or nurses running his way. They can’t have heard the alarm, then.

He was about to step out of the room and begin his escape, when he realised he was wearing a hospital gown. Well, great. That would give him away as an escaped patient, and… he would rather not run around outside in that, thank you very much.

Billy stepped back into the room, glancing around. It was then that he noticed the bag and the pile of clothes on the chairs by the side of the bed. He unfolded the clothes and sighed in relief- it was his familiar fur-collared brown jacket, beanie, and all. He changed into it swiftly, glancing to the door periodically to check that no one was coming. Once done, he grabbed his bag, about to go back over to the doorway before he froze.

Wait… where was he going? He knew there was somewhere. There was a house, he remembered finding the address in the police’s car. It’d been the last woman in the right age range with the surname Batson, so it had to be his mom. But… he couldn’t remember the address.

He set down his backpack, rifling through it—but, typically, his notebook with the addresses in it was missing. Someone must have gotten rid of it, he thought bitterly. If he couldn’t remember the address, then he was screwed.

However, just as he began to lose all hope, he felt a warmth bloom in his chest. Family. His mom was family, right? He would find his way home. If he’d been there before, then he was sure it would feel… familiar. He’d know his way home. Billy had never been one to stick around families, but the image of his mom that he’d grown up with in his mind was something he held close.

Sneaking out of the hospital was hard, especially since it being outside visiting times meant that a boy in a hoodie drew a lot of attention, but he was driven forwards with a sudden determination. He’d find his way back home.

As he stepped out of the hospital doors and into the brisk morning air, he looked up, and knew exactly where he was going.

*******

Freddy hadn’t slept the night they got back from the hospital. Watching Billy defend Darla and get his head smacked against the concrete was an image he knew would haunt him for a while. However, seeing the blank look Billy gave him, as if he didn’t know them, as if he didn’t know _him_ … it was utterly destroying.

He lay awake in his bed in the bottom bunk, phone out, researching everything he could about amnesia. His stomach twisted as he read about the different types, and he hoped beyond hope that Billy’s was only temporary…

Well, _only_ was a weak word for seeing your brother no longer your brother—but it was far better than him having permanent amnesia. He’d love him all the same, but would Billy love him?

Despite the lack of sleep, his mind was racing by the time sunlight began to stream through the gap between the curtains. As soon as he heard movement downstairs, he got up. Today he would go to the hospital and he’d have to talk to Billy. Maybe he’d be able to trigger his memories—even if just talking to him, or maybe something to do with Shazam…

His plans were interrupted as he came out of his room and heard the commotion downstairs. Rosa looked near tears as she set the phone down. She glanced up, caught his gaze, and the dam seemed to break.

“Mom?” His tone was wary, small and scared, as he rushed over to Rosa as fast as he could, allowing her to wrap her arms around him. “What’s wrong—is it—”

“Billy’s gone.” His heart leapt into his throat. “The hospital called- he left this morning. Took his stuff and just- he ran away. And he can’t remember us, he’s confused and scared out there, and…”

Rosa’s voice dwindled off as Victor joined the hug, wrapping his arms around the both of them.

“I know, honey, it’s okay. They’ve already called the police. I’m sure they’ll find him.”

“He could be anywhere…” Rosa choked out. Hearing the fear in her tone, and with the worry for his brother creeping up in his chest, Freddy knew what he had to do. He had to find Billy.

He broke away from the hug with a mumbled excuse about going up to his room and hurried away even faster than he’d arrived. He would enlist his siblings’ help, but it was early, and he wanted to get out and looking for his brother as quick as he could.

After closing the door, he opened the window, beginning to step out before shouting, “Shazam!”

As he began to fly away from the house, he thought quickly; where would Billy go? His memories were jumbled up, he was scared, running away…

At first, he thought of Billy’s mom’s place, but thought better of it at once. If Billy did remember her, he wouldn’t want to go there. If he didn’t, then he wouldn’t know the address.

Then, where else?

He moved swiftly to check the places they met up during patrolling, although most of these consisted of rooftops, and unless Billy had figured out how to transform into Shazam, or climb tall buildings, then that was a no go.

Freddy moved to larger areas, checking out the park, then the place where Billy had stood and crashed a bus from afar with a bolt of lightning. Nada.

His flying became aimless, desperation increasing. Billy could be anywhere by now. Perhaps he’d just gone on the run, never coming back…

Wherever he was, the morning was drawing on. It was coming to lunch. After checking in at the hospital and asking around for any clues about Billy’s disappearance, he realised that it would be his best bet to go back home, lest he worry Victor and Rosa more if they noticed him missing. Besides, he could enlist his siblings’ help to fly around the neighbour later.

Just as he was drawing near to home, he caught side of a hooded figure. His first instinct was to fly on, but something made him stop. Then, as he got closer, he recognised the green backpack and the brown jacket and…

Billy! That was Billy.

He flew quickly to the ground, a small distance away from him. Billy, who had been walking purposefully before, now froze, seeing the superhero stood ahead of him. Freddy opened his mouth to transform back to his civilian self, before pausing. If Billy still didn’t remember them, then seeing a superhero turn into that random kid from the hospital would probably freak him out.

“Hello there, uh, boy.” He said instead, trying to make himself sound more confident than he felt. “What’re you doing out and about?”

Billy raised a brow. “I’m… what… who are you?”

“You might not have heard, but there’s a new group of superheroes in Philadelphia. I’m one of them. And, as a superhero, I’m always on the look out to… help citizens?”

“Right.” Billy answered. “Well, I don’t need help. I know where I’m going.” He started to move ahead, as if to step around Freddy.

“Wait! No, I think you do need help. I can sense that you need help. It’s… one of my superpowers.” Ugh, now he’d done the same thing as Billy had with Mary. What other made up superpowers would their group have? First name-guessing, now this.

Billy didn’t answer, instead carrying on forwards, the determination back in his steps. When Freddy continued to follow, he glanced back.

“Look, dude, I’ve honestly never heard of you before. It’s kind of creepy that you’re following me, and—”

Freddy groaned. Well, now it was time to come up with a reason for being there before Billy ran again. “Actually, I have legitimate reasons to be concerned for you in particular, citizen. I’m… I’ve heard that you’re a missing person at the moment. The, uh, the hospital in the city reported you missing a couple of hours ago. Now, I have located you.”

Hearing this, Billy’s eyes widened, and he immediately started to run, shoes scuffing against the pavement.

_Real smart, Freddy_ , he thought to himself, taking back to the skies to get ahead of Billy. “I will not apprehend you—I simply need to make sure that you’re safe. Are you… well, are you going somewhere safe?”

At this, Billy stopped. “Yeah. Like I told you, I know where I’m going. I’m going back home.”

Freddy quirked a brow. “Do you… know where that is? I’ve been informed than you were a patient suffering with amnesia—”

“Alright, I know!” Billy seemed embarrassed for a moment at his outburst and glanced down to the pavement. “I know. I just… I know where I’m going. I’m going home.” Something was clutched in his hands, Freddy noticed. Something round and familiar on a keychain. The compass his mom gave him.

Billy continued to walk again, and Freddy followed, in silence this time. He stayed far behind but close enough to help, as he was concerned with the way Billy stumbled every now and then. It would really be bad if he got another concussion. Freddy wanted to just scoop him up and fly them back home, or to the hospital, but to him that didn’t seem like the best course of action.

The path felt increasingly familiar, Freddy noted, as he followed Billy. Maybe they were looping back around to his mom’s apartment, maybe…

They stopped, suddenly. Freddy looked up, blinking in shock.

“It’s me, mom… Hi, mom, I’m Billy Batson…” He heard Billy mumbling to himself, as if practicing something. “Miss Batson, I- I’ve been looking for you…”

It was then that it hit Freddy. Billy thought he’d found his way back to his mom—his birth mom. But, from where he was standing, Billy was at the Vasquez family home. Did that mean…

He didn’t have long to think, however, as Billy knocked on the door. Only seconds later, it was pulled open. Rosa appeared at the door, taking in Billy with wide, happy eyes.

Freddy stood, watching, as something akin to recognition shone in Billy’s eyes. He looked from the compass, to Rosa, and then, in one short glance, to Freddy in his superhero form.

And then, in a small but sure voice, Billy mumbled, “Mom,” wrapping Rosa in a hug.

Billy had found his way home after all.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed. I'm definitely writing many more works... and probably more amnesia ones, hence I will make this a series just in case. (and excuse the really bad pun for the series name... I know, I know.)  
> What did you think of this story? Any feedback? And anything Shazam you want me to write in the future? Then just let me know in the comments below. See you next time!


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